Innovative Projects Realized

DL-based commercial vehicle characteristics identification, detection, and classification system

Information is everywhere, especially in the commercial vehicle industry. Vehicles may be classified by number of axles/tires. There are several text- and label-based classification systems: for dangerous goods transport (HAZMAT); vehicle safety code compliance (CVSA); and general identification and tracking (license plates, USDOT numbers). Employing humans to perform simple classification and recognition tasks can be impractical. However, explicitly programming these tasks can be challenging. We propose research into object/character detection and recognition methods to develop a fast, accurate, and robust identification system for all aforementioned vehicle characteristics. We will utilize deep learning, in which machines learn patterns from data inputs and desired outputs. IRD will provide datasets from which we can develop our models, and will benefit by adding our solution to their many Intelligent Transportation Systems. We foresee that our system, allowing fast commercial vehicle identification and tracking, will be deployed throughout Canada, North America, and the driving world.

Connected and Automated Vehicles: Ameliorating Traffic Safety and Operations

It is expected that a complete deployment of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) onto a transportation network will take a long transition period and, therefore, reliable and accurate modeling of mixed traffic networks that include both conventional vehicles (ConVs) and CAVs is of paramount importance for the success of CAVs concept implementation. This project will utilize and expand basic traffic simulation models for mixed traffic networks to evaluate the specific factors that can ameliorate traffic safety and operations (e.g., the CAVs penetration ratios that may lead delaying the offset of congestion on freeway, the impact of traffic volumes on the efficiency of traffic signals and traffic safety, etc.). The partner will benefit by promoting their technology as a showcase related to the improvement of traffic operations as well as other environmental and economic benefits (e.g., reduction in air pollution, optimization of fuel consumption, reduction in lost productivity, etc.).

Évaluation de l’utilité d’une méthode de dépistage de glucose dans l’urine chez le chat : une étude pilote

À plus de 8 millions d’animaux, le chat est l’animal de compagnie favori dans les foyers canadiens. Le diabète de type 2 a une prévalence qui varie de 1 pour 50 à 1 pour 400 chez le chat de compagnie. La glycosurie est une manifestation diagnostique chez le chat diabétique. Actuellement, il n’existe aucun moyen de dépister cette condition à l’extérieur de l’établissement vétérinaire, ce qui retarde le diagnostic et la prise en charge des patients atteints de cette maladie. De plus, la validation de l’efficacité du traitement est compliquée pour le propriétaire. Un outil permettant facilement et de façon non intrusive de surveiller ces animaux est nécessaire. Ce programme de recherche a pour objectif d’évaluer la fiabilité d’une épreuve chromogénique de dépistage de glycosurie sur la litière, pouvant être facilement utilisé par l’établissement vétérinaire et à la maison. Les résultats contribueront à la mise en marché d’un produit innovant.

Developing Leadership Competencies Through Elite Sport

Sport participants offer a source for community leadership potential that could be more fully and intentionally leveraged for maximum social impact. Currently, leadership development occurring through sport is haphazard and may be a product of chance rather than intent. This research explores elite athletes’ perspectives of leadership competencies developed through sport and aims to gain greater understanding of how these competencies can be intentionally incorporated in long-term athlete development models. Interviews will be conducted with current and recently retired athletes inquiring into experience-based leadership competencies developed through sport. The intent of this research is to understand the ways qualitative leadership competencies might actually enhance sport performance outcomes, lead to a more holistic model of sport designed to develop excellence in both performance and leadership, and better leverage the power and potential of sport for individual, team and community development.

Determining the Stability of Lipid Organization in Asymmetric Liposomes

The outer covering of organisms often come in the form of a cellular plasma membrane, providing protection from harsh external factors. However, protection is not its only function; it acts as a matrix for important cellular reactions and processes (e.g. signal transduction, protein interactions, and more). At its basis, the membrane is a lipid bilayer with two apposing monolayers. These monolayers are composed of different lipid constituents (dubbed “membrane asymmetry”), conferring the monolayers unique physical and chemical properties from one another that affect protein shape and function. Despite the ubiquity of membrane asymmetry, most model membrane systems used are symmetric due to the difficulties in constructing asymmetric membranes. As a result, this project will aim to improve their synthesis, characterize different lipid compositions, and test these asymmetric membranes, to help shed light on the biological implications of lipid asymmetry on membrane properties and function.

Impact modeling of composite aircraft structure

Composite structures are vulnerable to impact damage, and have to satisfy certification

procedures for high velocity impact from bird strike and foreign object damage. Since

performing full scale impact tests is highly expensive and thus impractical, the development of

validated analytical tools for the prediction of the structural response is essential for the

industry to reduce development costs and to speed up the development process. Today, the

capabilities for modeling the initial and progressive failure of composite materials has not been

thoroughly evaluated or validated for commercial finite elements codes. Thus, accurate

modeling of the impact response and failure of composite airframe structures subjected to

impact and crash conditions still remains a challenging problem.

The challenge is then to integrate the knowledge accumulated through various

disciplines such as damage, fracture, computational mechanics, and composite failure

theories to form design methodologies and practical tools that will aid engineers and designers

in the analysis of composite structures.

Modelling of inspection cycles for power distribution transformers

EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc., an electric utility based in Edmonton is carrying out inspections on a fixed time interval for all of its distribution assets. In the case of pad-mounted distribution transformers, many of the time-based inspections resulted in the decision of “no action required”. This project aims to investigate the inspection data and develop a simple mathematical model to define the optimal inspection schedule for pad-mounted distribution transformers. This project will reduce the inspection costs of EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc. and help to better plan their future inspections for the pad-mounted transformers.

Perception, Mapping and Planning for Autonomous Indoor Cart Pullers in Plant Nurseries and Greenhouses

The project revolves around automation in nursery farms and greenhouses. The goal is to deliver planted pots using autonomous unmanned systems. Planted pots will be loaded/unloaded to/from plant carts using a small robot called BigTop, designed and developed at the supporting organization, AIS. Motion planning, control, and navigation algorithms will be developed through this project for a mother vehicle, equipped with a myriad of on board sensors, to move plant carts to their goal position in the nursery farms/greenhouse without any human intervention. Neither loading/unloading planted pots to/from plant carts, nor docking of the mother vehicle to the plan carts would be studied in this project.
On board sensors will be used to generate a digital incremental map of the environment, as new information about the environment become available, to localize the cart-puller vehicle inside this map, and to plan efficient, and safe motion plans within this environment fully autonomously.

Silicon-Modified British Columbia Natural Graphite for Use as High Energy Density Anodes for Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion Batteries

Eagle Graphite owns and operates one of only two flake graphite production facilities in Canada, and the only graphite quarry in Western North America. The quarry is located in Passmore, B.C., near the City of Castlegar. This collaboration between Dr. Jian Liu’s group at The University of British Columbia and Eagle Graphite will produce graphite-silicon battery anodes using the Eagle Graphite quarry resource. The objective is to produce a commercialized anode with a capacity that would surpass the benchmark graphite anodes currently produced. The benefits of this project include the potential to establish B.C. as a global leader in anode production, and the production of batteries that are lighter and offer greater range.

Waste-to-Energy Technologies and Opportunities

This project aims to promote the use of energy from solid waste by modeling data obtained from a Canadian landfill facility and by studying non-conventional waste-to-energy technologies and their applicability in Brazil. The collected data at the St. Sophie Landfill will be used to model thermal parameters and to simulate the influence of low temperatures on waste stabilization and gas generation. Monitoring and possibly controlling these effects are important to increase gas production and the airspace utilization factor of the landfill, which will drive revenue growth for the holding company. In addition, the study of different solid waste sources and non-conventional waste-to-energy technologies will provide valuable insight to guide public policies, the private sector and the research focused on this topic in Brazil.

Visualization Analysis of eBus Routes and Facilities

The adoption and integration of electric buses (eBus) will have positive impacts on the efficiency of transportation services, on energy consumption and related environmental benefits as well as costs, In partnership with CUTRIC OCAD U will engage dynamic Visual Analytics and Design Science to support electric bus (eBus) implementation in Canada, allowing the careful tracking of multiple data sources with which to measure the process of adoption, and then providing tools for monitoring of services, and prediction of impacts. We will further research on visualization technologies. New methods that help with public consultation as well as implementation include the use of maps and simple graphics. The research team will work closely with all stakeholders to create a meaningful system that can improve transportation in Canada.

Digital Marketing and Sales Decision Optimization

Like many of their global compatriots, Canadian banks have embraced digital transformation, which enables their account holders to access and manage their accounts and investments online, allowing personalized service. This reality includes the needs of internal stakeholders as well as clients. Planning and implementation of Customer Relations Management and digital sales systems require new ways of working that in turn implicate policies and procedures. Internal culture is impacted as banks strengthen their talent acquisition in AI, Machine learning and data analytics. Collaborations between the marketing and sales department, the operations department (for customer service), the IT and data analytics teams, the customer information manager and senior management are critical for successful service and profitability. The Mitacs Accelerate will support The Digital Marketing and Sales Decision Optimization project. This project will use Artificial Intelligence, organizational behavior, design ethnography, and data visualization research to identify and integrate the data assets, analytics and communications needs of all contributors, designing a user-centric system to support strategy, implementation and evaluation of marketing campaigns.